


Graceless Nights

by Midnight_Queen



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical language, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, OT4, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Post-Season/Series 03, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:28:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27699674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midnight_Queen/pseuds/Midnight_Queen
Summary: “Mama…What do the scars really mean? Where do they come from?”“No one knows for sure…But people believe different things about them. A lot of people believe there is some connection between people who share their scars. Like…if I were to get hurt that it left a scar, the same mark would show up on someone else’s skin, and whoever I share that scar with is someone I’m meant to meet, and we have a deep connection in our souls, hence the word soulmates. Whether we would be meant to be lovers, or to be close friends, or brothers in arms is something that varies in different people’s beliefs.”“What do you believe mama?”“I was always taught that the person—or, sometimes, people. I’ve heard stories about multiple people sharing scars—Anyway, I was told, and I believe that the person who shares your scars is someone who you are meant to love, and they are meant to love you as well. The bond between your souls manifests in the way your bodies are connected through sharing your scars.”
Relationships: Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 11





	Graceless Nights

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Castlevania in any shape, form or iteration, nor do I own any of the characters. It’s all the show’s creators, and Netflix, etc. Not me, fam. I don't own it.

Cairistíona worried about her daughter, sometimes. Verderia never retained injuries of her own; she always healed immediately whenever she got hurt, and there were never any scars left behind of her own doing. Cairistíona thanked her lucky stars every time—Verderia got into some mischief that should have hurt more than it seemed to—and always guessed it had something to do with Verderia being half-human and half-vampire. Even so, it made it strange to see when her soulmate’s scars appeared, writing snippets of the person’s life on her skin.

They began innocently enough, with the accidental scars people came across as children. Verderia would sit in Cairistíona’s lap, looking up at her with wide brown eyes and dark, curly auburn hair so like her own. Cairistíona would pull her close, bop the tip of her nose, and together they would fend off the cold, dark nights wondering what sort of mischief Verderia’s soulmate had gotten into to warrant a cut on their knee, or scrapes on their elbows or palms.

* * *

When Verderia was about ten, Cairistíona began to worry about her daughter’s soulmate. Verderia jolted awake in the middle of the night, crying, curled in on herself, and covering her face with her hands. Cairistíona gently gathered Verderia in her arms, hugging her and murmuring something she hoped was soothing and reassuring.

“Ria, sweet pea, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“This one _hurts_ , mama,” Verderia murmured, her small voice wavering.

Verderia lifted her head to look up at her, and Cairistíona felt her heart drop. There was a long scar across Verderia’s face on the left side, from her forehead through part of her cheek, cutting across her left eye. Verderia looked up at her with wide, _perceptive_ eyes, searching her mother’s face.

“I’m sorry sweetheart,” Cairistíona murmured, brushing a piece of Verderia’s hair from her face. “They hurt sometimes, if your soulmate is badly hurt.”

Verderia nodded, still sniffling, and snuggled closer to Cairistíona. Cairistíona hugged her tightly, murmuring a lullaby and rubbing slow circles across her back with one hand. Verderia cried and hiccupped for a while longer, but eventually fell into an uneasy sleep. Cairistíona did not sleep, not for a long while after Verderia’s breathing finally came evenly. She stayed awake, fighting back tears for her daughter, her daughter’s soulmate, and wondering what the _hell_ happened that had nearly taken their eye out tonight.

* * *

“It’s black magic, it is. Why else would the scars just appear from nowhere on your skin? A powerful witch cursed the entire human race, I’m telling you!”

“They don’t mean anything, then. The scars are nothing we should worry about.”

“The church teaches us the scars are a reminder of our sins, to remind humanity to follow the word of God, and that to glorify the marks as signs of a so-called soulmates is wrong. We’re told that pagans who do not believe the teachings of the church, who believe in soulmates based on someone who happens to share your scars will go to Hell for it.”

“Mama,” Verderia murmured as they walked through the square, and she drew her scarf tighter around herself, drawing it up to cover her mouth. “What do the scars really mean? Where do they come from?”

Cairistíona did not answer her until they had made their way home. She shut and locked the door, finally turning to her daughter and smiling slightly. Cairistíona brushed her curly auburn hair from her face, and gently led her daughter to sit down with her.

“No one knows for sure,” Cairistíona said. “But people believe different things about them. A lot of people believe there is some connection between people who share their scars. Like…if I were to get hurt that it left a scar, the same mark would show up on someone else’s skin, and whoever I share that scar with is someone I’m meant to meet, and we have a deep connection in our souls, hence the word soulmates. Whether we would be meant to be lovers, or to be close friends, or brothers in arms is something that varies in different people’s beliefs.”

“What do you believe mama?” Verderia asked.

Cairistíona hummed quietly, taking a deep breath and shifting to sit more comfortably before she answered. “I was always taught that the person—or, sometimes, people. I’ve heard stories about multiple people sharing scars—Anyway, I was told, and I believe that the person who shares your scars is someone who you are meant to love, and they are meant to love you as well. The bond between your souls manifests in the way your bodies are connected through sharing your scars.”

“But I don’t get scars of my own,” Verderia said quietly. “I always heal when I get hurt because I’m…half-vampire.”

“But you get your soulmate’s scars,” Cairistíona replied, leaning forward to kiss the top of Verderia’s head. “You still have a soulmate, and they will love you even when they find out about you being half-vampire. It may be a struggle at first—even if our scars may make it easier to find one another, love is never quite as straightforward as it seems, Ria— but I believe they will love you. You are worthy of a love like that, Verderia, no matter what others may say.”

* * *

Sypha startled awake, feeling a sharp pain at the left side of her face. She sat up suddenly where she had been curled up in a blanket in the back of the wagon, bringing her hand up to her face. She gave a short cry at the pain and tears began to well in her eyes. She whirled her head to look around, searching in the dark for her grandfather, moving to gently shake his shoulders to wake him.

“Grandfather! Grandfather, wake up!” Sypha’s voice was quiet, but still shook as she sniffled.

Ricardo woke with a soft groan, but sat up quickly upon hearing Sypha’s voice. He looked over to see her looking up at him with wide, teary eyes, one hand cradling her face. “What’s wrong, Sypha?”

“I got another scar,” Sypha said quietly. “But Grandfather, this one _hurts.”_

“I’m sorry, my angel,” Ricardo said, gently taking Sypha’s hands, his eyes widening slightly when he saw the scar that now cut across her left eye. “It happens, sometimes, where getting a scar from your soulmate hurts. They say it happens when something has hurt them badly.”

“Will they be alright?” Sypha asked.

“Of course, my angel,” Ricardo said, though in truth he did not know, and he carefully drew Sypha into a hug. “They will be fine, and so will you.”

Sypha nodded, sniffling quietly, and crying as she hugged Ricardo tightly. Ricardo took a few deep breaths, partially to calm himself, and partially to help Sypha take deep breaths again. He rested one hand on her head, fingers tangling gently in her short, curly, reddish hair that reminded him so much of her mother. He hummed quietly, a lullaby he often sang to Sypha when she had trouble sleeping, and he heard her give a soft sigh, humming along for a few moments before she drifted back to sleep. 

* * *

Adrian lay on his stomach on the bed, leaning over to read the book he had out before him, a small flame in one hand so he could see, his legs swinging slightly behind him. Father had shown him the spell a few days ago, and Adrian was eager to practice. That practicing also helped him stay awake past his bedtime reading was an extra incentive. He smiled slightly to himself, absently brushing his hair back from his face as he continued to read.

Adrian startled slightly from his thoughts when he felt a tingling sensation on the left side of his face. It quickly sharpened into pain, and Adrian yelped, the flame in his hand extinguishing as he brought his hands up to his face. He scrambled off the bed, disappearing in a flash of red down the hall to his parents’ room, knocking frantically on the door.

“Adrian? What’s wrong, dear?” Lisa asked as she opened the door, kneeling down to Adrian’s level. He sniffled slightly, tears in his eyes as he looked over at her.

“I’ve gotten another scar. But…Mother, this one hurts,” Adrian said softly. “Why does it hurt?”

“Oh Adrian,” Lisa murmured, drawing him into a hug and gently leading him over to sit on the bed where she and Vlad had been sitting. Vlad sat up straighter all of a sudden, looking worriedly at Lisa. She caught his gaze, mouthing the word _Scar_ before turning back to Adrian.

“Will you let us have a look at this new scar, Adrian?” Vlad asked gently, moving to sit beside Lisa.

Adrian nodded and carefully drew his hand away from his face. There was a long scar on the left side of his face from his forehead over part of his cheek, cutting across his left eye. Lisa felt her heart twist in her chest, but she reached carefully to cup Adrian’s face in her hands, gently wiping away his tears with her thumb as she murmured under her breath. He sniffled quietly and Vlad moved to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

“Does it still hurt now?” Lisa asked after a moment.

“No.” Adrian shook his head slightly, but there were still tears in his eyes. “Why did it hurt like that? Other scars I’ve gotten never have.”

“It has been known to happen, on occasion, if your soulmate is badly injured,” Vlad said gently. Adrian nodded, leaning into his father’s side. Lisa glanced at him with a look that was simultaneously worried and determined. “It will be alright,” Vlad murmured, not quite sure if he was reassuring his wife or his son.

Lisa hummed softly, moving to Adrian’s other side and wrapping him in a hug, leaning down to kiss the top of his head as he snuggled between her and Vlad. He sniffled for a few moments before Lisa felt his breathing even out, and Vlad reached to brush a stray lock of golden-blond hair from the boy’s face.

“The poor children,” Vlad said softly. “To be so hurt at such a young age.”

“Vlad,” Lisa said, turning her head to look up at him. The worried look was back in her eyes, but behind it was a firm determination. “I want to find out what happened to Adrian’s soulmate tonight. Can we do that?”

“We can, my love,” Vlad replied, leaning over to kiss Lisa gently. “In the morning, we can look into the distance mirror and see what there is to see about it, make sure the poor child is alright.”

* * *

Scars came more frequently for Verderia in the months and years following whatever incident her soulmate had gotten into that had scarred their eye. Cuts and scratches appeared across her shoulders, her chest, her arms and legs. Verderia wondered what, exactly, her soulmate was doing to get injured so much. Soon, however, she began to recognize the scars as from claw marks and injuries from monsters or night creatures. With that came a whole new set of worries for Verderia, not least of all what would happen once her soulmate found out she was half-vampire.

In her dark moments, she wondered if the latest injury had killed them. It was a relief, after that, whenever she gained another scar. She collected a few cuts or scrapes on her fingers or hands in addition to the more intense injuries. None of them, however, hurt in the same way whatever happened to her eye had.

Verderia still did not get scars from any of her own injuries. She worried sometimes, how she and her soulmate would recognize one another when they finally met. Cairistíona, however, assured her that they would, that if nothing else they would recognize her soulmate’s scars.

* * *

Trevor was not used to getting scars that were not his own. He was not used to not knowing, intimately, where the marks on his skin came from. He had a few from his soulmate, mostly on his fingers or hands, and he had handled enough weapons in his life to know that his soulmate was living a relatively ordinary life and being clumsy with a kitchen knife. He was glad for it, the vast majority of the time. Occasionally, he got a bit jealous and wanted nothing more than to be living that normal life with them. Occasionally, when he was very drunk, he wondered if he even could anymore; the concept was entirely foreign to him.

Trevor was not used to getting scars that were not his own, so it was always a shock when he did. He grimaced and braced an arm against a tree trunk when the sharp, tingling feeling spread across his chest. He gasped slightly when it intensified, when it _hurt._ The feeling subsided almost as quickly as it came, and Trevor furrowed his eyebrows. He pulled open his shirt enough to see a long scar cutting diagonally across his chest, wondering what the _fuck_ had happened to his soulmate. Trevor briefly wondered if this was how his soulmate felt all the time, whenever he got hurt, if they felt so _helpless_ every time a dangerous scar like this appeared on their skin when Trevor got injured. His stomach dropped at the thought.

* * *

Verderia was twenty-two before she got another scar that _hurt_. It hurt like the scar that cut across her left eye had hurt, but the pain seemed to radiate across her torso. She sat up in bed with a jolt, tensing when her mother shifted in her sleep nearby, murmuring under her breath before rolling over. Verderia breathed a soft sigh, wincing when it hurt her chest, and pulled at the laces of her nightgown. She tugged it open to see a long scar stretching diagonally across her torso, from her left shoulder across her chest and nearly to her right hip. Verderia took a deep, shaky breath, trying to breath evenly as she waited for the pain to subside. When it did, she flopped unceremoniously back onto the bed, brushing her hair from her face and staring up at the ceiling, wondering, not for the first time and likely not for the last, what the _hell_ her soulmate had gotten into.

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Starting another new fic when I already have two multi-chapter fics in progress? One of them already for Castlevania? It's more likely than you think.  
> If you're new, welcome! I hope you like the story! If you're not, welcome back, I'm glad you stayed, and I hope you like the story! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!


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